[nazerene] *The Many Dimensions of "Believing"
The Many Dimensions of "Believing"
(Gen 15:5-7 KJV)
And he
brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven,
and tell the
stars, if thou be able to number them:
and he said unto
him, So shall thy seed be.
{6} And he believed[H=539] in the LORD;
and he counted it to him for righteousness.
{7} And he said
unto him, I am the LORD that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees,
to give thee
this land to inherit it.
(Rom 4:3-5 KJV)
For what saith
the scripture?
Abraham believed God,
and it was
counted unto him for righteousness.
{4} Now to
him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of
debt.
{5} But to
him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the
ungodly,
his faith
is counted for righteousness.
(Gal 3:6-9 KJV)
Even as
Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to
him for righteousness.
{7} Know ye
therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of
Abraham.
{8} And
the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through
faith,
preached
before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be
blessed.
{9} So
then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful
Abraham.
-
Dear Friends in
Christ,
The Bible is at the same time a
very simple and understandable book, and yet one that has many hidden nuances of
truth that can only be discovered by study and deliberating over what is
presented. One example of this is the many dimensions of meaning of "believing"
in God. According to the verses above, Abraham believed in God and God accounted
to Abraham salvation ("righteousness") because of his belief. So if it is that
important, what is "believing" all about, and what does it all really mean to
believe in God?
The Hebrew word which is
translated "believe" in the Gen 15 passage, is "aman" ="to build up or
support" . Notice that this word is similar to "amen" , which we say when we
mean, "I agree, let it be so, this is a truthful saying, etc. Amen is also a
Hebrew word which is derived from aman, and would be almost indistinguishable
from it in Hebrew letters.
When we want to
the meaning of a word in a foreign language, it is always helpful to
find out how the word is used in other contexts in that language. For Biblical
words, we use a concordance to look up that word in other passages, notice the
context, and we may get some insight as to what God wants us to teach us
about this term. For this reason, we will look at various occurances of "aman"
in the Old Testament and examine the contexts in which they occur, and see
what God has imbedded in these veses to teach us.
To "believe" in God
means:
1) To accept
that God appeared to Moses. (Exo 4:5)
2) To pay
attention to the miraculous signs God has given (Exo
4:8-9)
3) To pay
attention to the voice of God (ie. also the "word" of God) (Exo
4:8-9)
4) To let the
doings of God affect you so that you will bow your head and worship Him. (Exo
4:31)
5) When you
examine what God has done, it allows you to fear the Lord
and believe you. (Exo 14:31 to 15:1-3)
6) To hear the Lord when He speaks with you,
and believe Him forever. (Exo 19:9)
7) To recieve the nurturing and loving
kindness of the Lord (Num 11:12)
8) To be faithful in all dealings with
God, (Num 12:7-8)
9) to behold the presence of the Lord
(Num 12:7-8)
10) To believe God
when He shows signs unto you (Num 14:11)
11) To sanctify
God in the eyes of the children of God (Num 20:12)
12) To believe
what the Lord God says (Deu 1:31-32)
13) To believe
that The Lord He is The Trustworthy God (Deu 7:9-11)
14) To listen and
obey the voice of the Lord (Deu 9:23)
15) To know that
God''s presence and power is of long continuing duration (Deu
28:59)
16) To
have assurance of your life (Deu
28:66)
17) To accept the
"mothering" love of the Lord for you (Ruth 4:16)
18) To do that
which is in the heart of God (1 Sam 2:35)
19) To walk in the
presence of Christ forever (1 Sam 2:35)
20) To be established as a
prophet of th Lord (a forth-teller of God's will) (1 Sam
3:20-21)
21) To have your house(family)
and your kingdom(dominion) established forever. (2 Sam
7:16)
22) To verify (to confirm,
especially the truth if a prediction) the Word of God (1 Ki
8:26-27)
23) To experience the certainty
of God's continuing presence and provision (1 Ki 11:38)
24) To bring up the children in
the faith (2 Ki 10:5)
25) To do everything that the
Lord commands of you. (2 Ki 10:5)
26) To NOT believe in God,
means: (2 Ki 17:14-16)
a) to not hear the voice of the
Lord
b) to
harden your neck against obeying God
c) to
reject the commandments of the Lord
d) to
reject the covenant of the Lord
e) reject the testimonies of the Lord against
you
f) to follow things of the world and go astray from the
Lord
g) to
follow the heathen and their pleasures
h) to
ignore the warnings a
[nazerene] *The Many Dimensions of "Believing"
The Many Dimensions of "Believing"
(Gen 15:5-7 KJV)
And he
brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven,
and tell the
stars, if thou be able to number them:
and he said unto
him, So shall thy seed be.
{6} And he believed[H=539] in the LORD;
and he counted it to him for righteousness.
{7} And he said
unto him, I am the LORD that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees,
to give thee
this land to inherit it.
(Rom 4:3-5 KJV)
For what saith
the scripture?
Abraham believed God,
and it was
counted unto him for righteousness.
{4} Now to
him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of
debt.
{5} But to
him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the
ungodly,
his faith
is counted for righteousness.
(Gal 3:6-9 KJV)
Even as
Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to
him for righteousness.
{7} Know ye
therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of
Abraham.
{8} And
the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through
faith,
preached
before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be
blessed.
{9} So
then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful
Abraham.
-
Dear Friends in
Christ,
The Bible is at the same time a
very simple and understandable book, and yet one that has many hidden nuances of
truth that can only be discovered by study and deliberating over what is
presented. One example of this is the many dimensions of meaning of "believing"
in God. According to the verses above, Abraham believed in God and God accounted
to Abraham salvation ("righteousness") because of his belief. So if it is that
important, what is "believing" all about, and what does it all really mean to
believe in God?
The Hebrew word which is
translated "believe" in the Gen 15 passage, is "aman" ="to build up or
support" . Notice that this word is similar to "amen" , which we say when we
mean, "I agree, let it be so, this is a truthful saying, etc. Amen is also a
Hebrew word which is derived from aman, and would be almost indistinguishable
from it in Hebrew letters.
When we want to
the meaning of a word in a foreign language, it is always helpful to
find out how the word is used in other contexts in that language. For Biblical
words, we use a concordance to look up that word in other passages, notice the
context, and we may get some insight as to what God wants us to teach us
about this term. For this reason, we will look at various occurances of "aman"
in the Old Testament and examine the contexts in which they occur, and see
what God has imbedded in these veses to teach us.
To "believe" in God
means:
1) To accept
that God appeared to Moses. (Exo 4:5)
2) To pay
attention to the miraculous signs God has given (Exo
4:8-9)
3) To pay
attention to the voice of God (ie. also the "word" of God) (Exo
4:8-9)
4) To let the
doings of God affect you so that you will bow your head and worship Him. (Exo
4:31)
5) When you
examine what God has done, it allows you to fear the Lord
and believe you. (Exo 14:31 to 15:1-3)
6) To hear the Lord when He speaks with you,
and believe Him forever. (Exo 19:9)
7) To recieve the nurturing and loving
kindness of the Lord (Num 11:12)
8) To be faithful in all dealings with
God, (Num 12:7-8)
9) to behold the presence of the Lord
(Num 12:7-8)
10) To believe God
when He shows signs unto you (Num 14:11)
11) To sanctify
God in the eyes of the children of God (Num 20:12)
12) To believe
what the Lord God says (Deu 1:31-32)
13) To believe
that The Lord He is The Trustworthy God (Deu 7:9-11)
14) To listen and
obey the voice of the Lord (Deu 9:23)
15) To know that
God''s presence and power is of long continuing duration (Deu
28:59)
16) To
have assurance of your life (Deu
28:66)
17) To accept the
"mothering" love of the Lord for you (Ruth 4:16)
18) To do that
which is in the heart of God (1 Sam 2:35)
19) To walk in the
presence of Christ forever (1 Sam 2:35)
20) To be established as a
prophet of th Lord (a forth-teller of God's will) (1 Sam
3:20-21)
21) To have your house(family)
and your kingdom(dominion) established forever. (2 Sam
7:16)
22) To verify (to confirm,
especially the truth if a prediction) the Word of God (1 Ki
8:26-27)
23) To experience the certainty
of God's continuing presence and provision (1 Ki 11:38)
24) To bring up the children in
the faith (2 Ki 10:5)
25) To do everything that the
Lord commands of you. (2 Ki 10:5)
26) To NOT believe in God,
means: (2 Ki 17:14-16)
a) to not hear the voice of the
Lord
b) to
harden your neck against obeying God
c) to
reject the commandments of the Lord
d) to
reject the covenant of the Lord
e) reject the testimonies of the Lord against
you
f) to follow things of the world and go astray from the
Lord
g) to
follow the heathen and their pleasures
h) to
ignore the warnings a
